About a month from now, the nation will witness a change of guard from Dr Mahathir Mohamad to his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Henceforth, the destiny of Malaysia lies in the hands of Abdullah as we face the coming challenges of Afta and World Trade Globalisation. In the quest to rise to such global challenges, Abdullah has to carefully select his ministers, and more so, the deputy prime minister who are able to assist him.

Since the announcement of Mahathir's retirement some 12 months ago, there have been bickering among the various political camps within Umno in promoting their candidacies without the focus on the far more important picture of our nation's survival pending the onslaught of trade globalisation.

Among the present crop of ministers, I reckon that Rafidah Aziz would be best to assist Abdullah. Those in the trade sector would have seen Rafidah's capability and knowledge. Many foreign investors have been awed by her intelligence and her commitment to turn Malaysia into a major trading partner. Hence, Rafidah should be considered as a potential candidate for the post of deputy prime minister.